Feast day: September 20
Saint Andrew Kim Taegon is among the 103 Korean martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Christians in Korea were persecuted. Openly practicing the faith meant risking death.
At the age of 15, Andrew Kim Taegon decided to risk being a Christian and was baptized. Later he became the first Korean-born priest, but he had to leave Korea to do it. Andrew’s journey to the priesthood also led him to become an escort for missionaries traveling between China and Korea.
Saint Andrew was eventually caught, jailed, tortured, and beheaded. He is one of the many Korean martyrs who gave up their lives instead of giving up their faith. (From Exploring Saints and Feast Days with Young Adolescents [Saint Mary’s Press])
(Image Rabanus Flavus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)